The present invention relates generally to tractors and front loaders, and more particularly to a bracket for attaching a front loader to a tractor.
It is common practice for tractors to include loaders to which a large variety of attachments can be connected to provide a wide range of applications in the agricultural, industrial and construction fields. Such loaders are usually mounted on the front end of a tractor and generally include a bracket, acting as the interface between the tractor and the loader, a loader frame assembly, boom arms pivotally mounted to the frame, an attachment mounted across the forward ends of the boom arms, tilt cylinders coupled between the attachment and the boom arms, and a lift cylinder or cylinders coupled between the frame assembly and the boom arms. An exemplary structure of this general type loader/tractor/bracket is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,199 to Baumert, III et al.
The normal commercial practice for providing a tractor with a loader to an end customer is to build the tractor and ship it to a local dealer where the bracket and loader are then affixed to the tractor prior to delivery. Alternatively, in the case of a later decision, this process may occur in the field after purchase and use of the tractor by the customer. The problems associated with dealer installation of the loader are significant in the practical world. For instance, dealer installation in most cases requires extensive removal of tractor components to complete, and thus takes considerable time. Time is money. Additionally, dealer installation requires clamping/friction loads on the joint between the front and rear pieces. It is preferable that the loading on the bolts be in tension and compression. Dealer installation also requires periodic hardware torque checks to maintain integrity.
It would be of significant advantage to develop a simple, yet reliable mounting bracket that reduces or eliminates the above-described problems and difficulties.